Rafa Jodar Advances to Charlottesville Challenger Semifinals

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Four current members of the Virginia men’s tennis team and three alumni will be competing at the Jonathan Fried Pro Challenger, being held Oct. 26 – Nov. 2 at the Sports Club at the Boar’s Head Resort.

Sophomore Rafael Jódar has advanced to the semifinals of the tournament. He will take on No. 212 Johannus Monday on Saturday at 2 p.m. Jódar is the 7-seed in the draw while Monday is the 8-seed.

Jódar defeated UVA teammate Dylan Dietrich on Friday (Oct. 31) in the quarterfinals, to advance to his eighth Challenger semifinal of the year.

Tickets are required to be purchased for the matches to be played on Friday – Sunday, which includes the singles quarterfinals leading to the finals and the doubles semifinals and finals. For these matches, a ticket is required for all guests three and older.

Jódar and Dietrich both picked up straight-set wins on Tuesday to also advance to the second round.

On Wednesday, Dietrich picked up the biggest win of his career, topping World No. 203 Jay Clarke 7-6 (6), 6-1 . Dietrich served up 16 aces in the match to eliminate the tournament’s No. 4 seed. With the victory, Dietrich advances to the quarterfinal round of a Challenger-level tournament for the first time in his career.

Jódar, was was ranked No. 207 in the world coming into the tournament, cruised through a 6-4, 6-0 win against Saba Purtseladze in a match that lasted just 72 minutes to advance to the quarterfinals.

Jódar has won two Challenger singles titles this year. This will be his 10th Challenger quarterfinal. He is looking to advance to the semifinals for the eighth time.

Jódar is 37-12 in Challenger and ITF WTT matches this year.

Alums Iñaki Montes and Thai-Son Kwaitkowski also competed in the singles main draw. Montes battled through a three-hour, thirty-five minute match against Oliver Tarvet on Wednesday in the Round of 16, being edged 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (3). Kwaitkowski dropped his opener.

Montes also played in the doubles main draw with fellow Cavalier alumni James Hopper. They were edged by the tournament’s No. 2 seed in the draw in their opening match.

Sophomores Keegan Rice and Jangjun Kim competed on Sunday (Oct. 26) in the singles qualifying tournament. Rice faced the top seed in the qualifying tournament, falling 6-3, 7-5. Kim was edged 6-4, 7-6 (5).

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